With six vacancies (other than the Ravens) and seven teams calling former Ravens coach John Harbaugh after his dismissal on Tuesday, at least one team without a vacancy made the call.
So which team(s) called? (It’s possible that more than one team without an opening called, if at least one of the teams currently looking for a coach did not.)
Here’s a look at the possibilities. And don’t blame us for doing it; Harbaugh’s agent lit the fuse by disclosing that seven teams called.
Jets: By all appearances, first-year coach Aaron Glenn lost the locker room. The final five games, with a minus-137 point differential (27.4 per game), was arguably the worst stretch ever for a franchise with plenty of rough spots. Still, owner Woody Johnson has shown no inclination to fire Glenn — and to owe him more than $40 million to not coach the team.
Dolphins: Michigan man Stephen Ross once pursued Michigan man Jim Harbaugh while the Dolphins still had a coach under contract. Why wouldn’t Ross make the call about Harbaugh’s brother, given the currently tenuous status of Mike McDaniel?
Bills: What if the Bills lose this weekend? Is it crazy to think the Bills would consider making a change? That said, swapping out one coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent for another coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent seems odd.
Steelers: If the team thinks Mike Tomlin, who seems to have a TV offer in his back pocket, could be leaving after the playoff run ends, it needs to be thinking about the next coach. Why not Harbaugh?
Bengals: There’s no way Mike Brown will finance Zac Taylor’s buyout and pay whatever it would take to get Harbaugh.
Colts: Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has said Shane Steichen will be back. Could she view Harbaugh as an upgrade who may not be available if a change is made in 2027?
Chiefs: Andy Reid will be back for 2026. The phone call (if it happened) may have been as simple as, “Keep us in mind if you’re thinking about taking a year off and returning in 2027.”
Cowboys: See the Chiefs.
Commanders: Dan Quinn’s team badly regressed in 2025. Why wouldn’t owner Josh Harris at least consider the possibility of an upgrade to Harbaugh?
Packers: New team president Ed Policy made it clear in June that it’s an up-or-out year for coach Matt LaFleur and G.M. Brian Gutekunst. Could Policy have wanted to let Harlan (the son of former Packers CEO Bob Harlan) know that there may be a reason to let the wild-card round play out before making any decisions?
Buccaneers: There’s a vague sense still lingering that ownership could make a coaching change. Harbaugh’s availability could be the thing that pushes the Bucs off the fence.
At least one of those teams made the call. Maybe more than one. And if one of those teams fires its head coach in the coming days, it could be the first step toward hiring John Harbaugh.
Colts Clips
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has an interview lined up for the Titans’ head coaching vacancy and he’s on the radar of another team with an opening at the position.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Giants have requested an interview with Anarumo. He is expected to interview with the Titans on Wednesday and all interviews at this stage in the process will take place virtually.
Anarumo spent six years as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator before joining the Colts this year, but he’ll be a familiar face to some in the Giants organization. He was the team’s defensive backs coach in 2018 when Pat Shurmur was their head coach.
The Giants are also expected to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski this week.
Between his performance and his injuries, Anthony Richardson’s first three pro seasons have not gone as planned.
The Colts brought in Daniel Jones to be competition for their former No. 4 overall pick, with Jones beating out Richardson to be Indianapolis’ QB1. Jones then played well before suffering a fractured fibula, followed by a torn Achilles.
While Jones was on just a one-year deal, the Colts are expected to try and bring him back for 2026.
At this point, it seems virtually guaranteed that the Colts will not exercise Richardson’s fifth-year option in the spring.
On Monday, Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon was asked if there’s a place for Richardson with the club going forward.
“I think I’m going to stay in my lane on that one,” Irsay-Gordon said, via transcript from the team. “But it’s — I feel horrible for Anthony with the injuries that he’s had to endure, and I know Chris [Ballard] and Shane [Steichen] are going to do the right thing.”
That’s the general stance Irsay-Gordon took when asked about the quarterback position. Though she noted that what the club saw from Jones was “really promising,” she left it up to Ballard and Steichen to make the ultimate decisions on QBs.
We’ll see if that includes any sort of move with Richardson as the offseason unfolds.
The Titans are set for a head coaching interview on Wednesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they are scheduled to meet with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Wednesday is the first day that teams are permitted to speak with coaches whose team played their final game of the regular season on Sunday and all interviews are held remotely at this point in the process.
Anarumo joined the Colts in 2025 after spending the previous six seasons running the defense for the Bengals. The Colts beat the Titans 41-20 and 38-14 during the regular season.
The Titans are also scheduled for interviews with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris this weekend.
When Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon explained the team’s decision to stay the course with head coach Shane Steichen and General Manager Chris Ballard on Monday, she highlighted the team’s 7-1 start as a reason to believe in their plans for the franchise.
Daniel Jones was the quarterback for that start, so it stands to reason that bringing him back is also part of the larger plan in Indianapolis as the team heads into the offseason. While their slide to missing the playoffs began with Jones in the lineup, it accelerated once he tore his Achilles in early December and Steichen called Jones’ pre-injury play “phenomenal” on Monday.
Jones also had a chance to speak to reporters and it sounds like he shares interest in running things back in 2026.
“I’d love to be back here,” Jones said. “I’ve enjoyed being here, working with the coaching staff here, the players, I think it’s a great organization and I’ve enjoyed being here. Obviously there’s a business side to it and understand that, but I’ve really enjoyed being here around these people.”
Jones said that he expects to be ready to go for training camp, but his injury history is long enough that the Colts can’t afford to be left in a position where they’re coaxing players out of retirement if and when he goes down again. Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard are currently under contract, but there could be further changes at the position once the team has secured Jones’ return.
The Colts lost eight of their final nine games in the 2025 season, but the team’s reaction to the way the season ended is more focused on their 7-1 start.
Team owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon addressed the decision to retain General Manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen at a press conference on Monday. Irsay-Gordon said she was pleased with how Ballard was more active in free agency and the trade market to put together the roster that began the season so well. The Colts “believe that he’s going to be able to replicate what we were on our way to doing” and that Steichen is the right person to coach that team.
Injuries to quarterback Daniel Jones and other key players contributed to the Colts’ slide, but Irsay-Gordon said “we’ve got to be able to handle adversity better and still find a way to win” and that the two men know they have to do that immediately.
“We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher,” Irsay-Gordon said, via the team’s website. “Chris and Shane are both capable of facing this challenge head-on and finding a way to achieve the results that our fans deserve, which is winning games, getting to the postseason and ultimately winning championships.”
Steichen is 25-26 in his three seasons with the Colts while the team is 70-78-1 since Ballard was hired in 2017.
The Colts claimed linebacker John Bullock off waivers, the team announced Monday.
The Buccaneers waived Bullock on Friday.
Bullock appeared in 15 games with the Buccaneers this season, playing five defensive snaps and 253 on special teams. He totaled 10 special teams tackles.
He originally signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent on May 9.
Bullock saw action in 47 career games at Nebraska and recorded 126 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, eight passes defensed, one interception and three forced fumbles. He garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition in 2024.
Philip Rivers made an unexpected return to the NFL as a quarterback last month and his three-game run as the starter for the Colts has put him on the radar for another NFL role.
A report last week indicated that teams are doing research on Rivers as a head-coaching candidate. Rivers’ only coaching experience has come for his son’s team on the high school level and he’s said that his plan is to go back to doing that now that his return to the field has come to an end.
On Monday, Rivers said from the Colts’ locker room that NFL interest is “nothing that I would shut down before it even became a possibility” but that there has been no substantive interest from teams at this point.
“There’s nothing of concrete with that,” Rivers said. “I think, if anything, this past month has taught me you’re open to obviously anything, I guess, and you go from there.”
Rivers also expressed confidence in his ability to do the job if something should come his way.
“I do think, as humbly as I can say it, that I can coach at this level,” Rivers said. “I know enough about the game, about the guys from a leadership standpoint — camaraderie, all that comes with it. But, again, that’s not something that I’m sitting here pursuing.”
Six teams currently have head coaching vacancies and there should be word soon if any of them are planning to add Rivers to their list of candidates.
Add Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to the list of Titans head coaching candidates.
Multiple reports on Monday say that the Titans have requested an interview with Anarumo. With the Colts’ season over, Anarumo will be able to have a remote interview with the team this week.
Anarumo joined the Colts in 2025 and the team finished 21st in points allowed and 23rd in yards allowed while going from 7-1 to missing the playoffs this season. Anarumo spent the previous six seasons as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator and has also worked as an assistant for the Giants and Dolphins.
The Titans have also requested interviews with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward is considering retirement at age 29 because of the ongoing effects of multiple concussions.
Ward told reporters today that he is still having headaches after his latest concussion, which was four weeks ago. He said he’s been talking to his family, and that his father thinks he should retire for his own health and safety.
Ward suffered three concussions during the 2025 season, and even before the third one he said he was concerned about his future.
“I was kind of doubting if I was gonna play football again because it was like that scary,” Ward said of his second concussion of the season. “It was that scary, you know what I mean, because I was thinking about my life outside of football too.”
Seeking a healthy and happy life outside of football may lead Ward to decide that he’s done playing football.
